I miss some features, namely the possibility to configure the Windows List behaviour. I was looking for an applet that would replace the default Windows List, but probably the only one that could help was the Icing Task Manager, which is however not compatible with Cinnamon 2.4.8.

Another possibility would be to upgrade to Cinnamon 2.6, where the Window List is already configurable. I found several webpages describing how to upgrade Cinnamon in LM 17.1, but all these articles date back to 2015, and they say you should use the Unstable (romeo) repository.

On the other hand, Cinnamon 2.6 should be already included in LM 17.2 (or even 2.8 in LM 17.3). So maybe it would be better to perform a standard upgrade to LM 17.3 using the Update Manager, and to get Cinnamon 2.8 with it.

Which way do you recommend and why? I prefer a safe way, in the sense I want to minimize the risk something would break during the upgrade. (But of course I know that nothing is granted and I can happen, anyway...)

I would upgrade the OS, so that you can be certain that your version of Cinnamon is never out of step with your version of Mint. The upgrade available through the Update Manager is probably a pretty safe way.

If your issue is solved, kindly indicate that by editing the first post in the topic, and adding [SOLVED] to the title. Thanks!

Yes, upgrading Mint to 17.3 is the way to go. The upgrade path to 17.2 does not more exist since the release of 17.3 and it also does not make much sense. My 17.3 had been upgraded 2 years ago from 17.1 (I skipped 17.2), so I can tell you, that this works perfectly.